Foster + Partners have confirmed that they will submit their proposal for a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary to the Airports Commission, an organisation investigating airport capacity in the UK, by mid-July. The submission will be an important step towards getting government approval of the plan.

The airport, which will have four runways (the potential to expand to six) and capacity for 150 million passengers, is part of Foster + Partners' Thames Hub proposal. The hub would be built on a platform on the Isle of Grain in the Thames Estuary and be connected to London via a spur linking directly to the existing high-speed rail line; in this way, Foster + Partners hope that it would eliminate the environmental, noise and security problems that come with the UK's dependence on Heathrow Airport.

The self-funded Thames Hub vision was first made public in 2011. See our previous coverage: here.